Engine control for marine engines



Aug. 26, 1941. A. J. HIGGINS ENGINE CONTROL FOR MARINE ENGINES FiledNov. 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 26, 1941. A. J. HIGGINS ENGINECONTROL FOR MARINE ENGINES Filed Nov. 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 .W J WY Patented Aug. 26, 1941,

v 1 4 1 IENGINE CONTROL For: MARINE ENGINES Andrew" J, Higgins, NewOrleans, 'La'., assignor to "Higgins" Industri s;

corporation of Louisiana I r v Application member 2, 1940, Serial Nq.13s4, 0cs sea in (01.- vl-my v This invention relates to marine, enginesand more particularlytocontrol devices formarine gasengines. a v

In marine engines it is essential that their control shall be as simpleas possible, and; preferably, that it be capable of being locatedat-various positions with respect to the engine as in; many instances itis highly desirable that the helmsman, located at; a considerabledistance from the engine, should be able, himself, to control the engme.

. For purpose of, maneuverability and safety, it is alsohighlydesirable, if not essential, :that it be possible to;.th row theengine from'a position of full. speed ahead to fullspeedasternalmost in-I;

stantaneously, inasmuch "as the reversal of the propelleris the onlymeans forlbraking the vessel and bringing itlto a 'quick'stopw r a Inconnection with such rapid reversalof the engine from high spe.ed, aheadto high speed 'in reverse,jitis essential, for the safety of the"engine; that the supply of fuelbereduced'to a mini mumduringthezlim-ited-neutral position of the reversingr gear mechanism to avoidracinglof the engine; at :that point with the consequent undue wear onthe reversing gear mechanism. 6 l v 1 A further. essential requirementof suchfa control, device -is that it be very simple and as nearlyfool-proofzas-possible in-viewofthe' fact that many-motor boats arehandled by inexperienced persons. 1 I

Having these problems in mind, the present invention relates ,tosuch adevice which can be locatedvat remote points with respect to the engine,or, if desired, directly on the reversing gear case; which "is operatedby'single hand lever and which permits the almost instantaneousreversal' of the propeller from any speed ahead to any desired speed inreverse or the'converse', as may be desired, with means for'avoidi ngundue wear on the reversing gear mechanism and'such simplicity inconstruction'and arrangement as ren-' ders the same substantiallyfool-proof.

The invention consists "of the 'novel'construm.

tionf' arrangement and combinations of parts hereinafter moreparticularly described and claimed.

Two sheets of drawings accompany this speci- I fication, in which likereference characters indicate like parts throughout:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of one possible installation of thepresent invention illustrating a remote control of the reversing gearand carburetor throttle or an engine; Y

gear power device: and];- Figure '7'is a'diagram of Figure 2-is afragmentary cross section taken online 2-2' of Figure 1; r

; Figured is a front elevation of the 'i mproved control device;

Figure 4 is a verticalcross section taken onjlin e 441 of Figure'3';

F gure 5 is a fragmentary cross section taken on line 5'-5 of Figure 4;i. I} F1gure6-is a diagram of the control device associat'ed directlywith the valve fof the reversing the improved control device atfaposition rQmOte from the engine C indicates; the I operative shaft ofthereversing gear mechanism of,a-.;marine en-v g1ne, the rotation ofjw'hich .shaft operates-to change the direction of rotation of thepropeller shaft. As here illustrated, this, reversing gear shaft C'isoperated by compressed.aireoperating through a cy'linde'rb, piston rodband lever c.-

The qm sed air suppliedlto cylinder; a

through suitable pipes. 11. which are connected with a control valvee,having an operative shaft (3 upon which is 'a;,pulley f operated byabelt .9 which s'passe'd oversuitabie uide pulleysh to-a second pulley f'on shaft C of the improved con-' trol' device; 7 The carburetor throttleis mounted on a shaft 2' connected by a link'k to a bell-crank l9 whichis also connected to the improvedcontrol device.

It w 1l 1 be apparent from a consideration of Figure 1 that the controldevice. can be located at various distances and indifferent directionswith respect to the engine merely by the provision of suitable guidepulleys for the belt o and linkage in connection with the rod h. r a Itwill further be noted that, if desired, the improved control device canbe mounted with its reversing gear control. shaft 01- directly coupledFigures 3 to 5, it consists essentially of a support.

ing pedestal I having a base 2 which may be secured by bolts or screwsto any convenient part of the boat. The pedestal I is provided with ajournal for a stub shaft 3 on a lever 4, which lever is further providedon its inner face toward the pedestal with segmental gear 5 concentricwith the shaft 3. The lever 4 is further provided with a detent screw 6and has its upper end formed as a hand grasp I. At its lower end thelever 4 is connected as by pin 8 with a link 9.

Between pedestal l and lever 4 and mounted on the pedestal is a quadrant9 provided with a plurality of detent, holes II in which the detentscrew 6 is adapted to engage and thus frictionally hold the lever 4 inadjusted positions.

The pedestal is further provided with a journal for shaft C "whichcarries on one endadiacent lever 4, a quadrant gear I2, the teeth of,which are adapted to engage w'iththe teeth of the quadrant gear 5 formedon lever 4 during, a limited portion of the stroke of lever 4, thesector of such enmeshment being indicated 'in' Fig? ure 3 between thearrows, and marked reversing,

gear. On the other end of shaft is a pulley I3 carrying belt 9 which,lasillustrated in Figure 1, also rides 'on pulley f of valve e. Wherethe control device is to be located immediately adjacent the valve e theshaft C will be ,di-

rectly coupled to the shaft, C Alternatively, where the control deviceis to be used as a manual gear shift, the shaftC will be directlycoupled or formed'integral with the shaft C.v

The lower end of thelink 9 is illustrated as being formed as anenlargedsocket l4 adapted to-slidably receive in its bore a rod IS. Thesleeve I4 is provided with a through-slot l6 and a pin l1 passes throughthisslot and rod l5,

thus providing a limited lost motion connection between the rods 9 andIS. A compression spring 18 may be conveniently positioned within the--socket and between the end of its bore and the end of rod IE toeliminate shocks at this point. The rod I is, as illustrated in Figure1, connected to hell crank I 9 and thus through link is to the throttlecontrol valve i.

It will be noted that the sector of travel of reduced the supply of fuelfrom the-full volume at'the extreme left to a mere idling supply of fuelas the lever enters the reversing gear travel sector and that during thepassage of the lever through this reversing gear travel sector, the

throttle will be heldat idling position while the gears arebejingshiftedand that the continued movement offthe lever to the right will againgradually open the throttle from idling position tofullfuel supplyat theextreme right.

Yarious modifications in the construction of the parts will readilysuggest themselves to those 'skilled in the art, but all within thescope of the. present invention as claimed.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention,*I claim: ,H'

-1. A control device for a marine engine having a reversing gear andacarburetor throttle, comprising a support, aglever. pivotally mounted onthe support, a rotary reversing gear operating member pivotally mounted-on the support, segmental gearsv operatively associating the lever andreversing gear operating member and linkage operatively connecting thelever and the throttle.- l r l r 2. The device of claim 1, in which thesegmental gears are arranged to .engage only through a sector medial ofthe operative stroke of the "lever between the extremepositions" oflever 4 during which the segmental gears connecting the lever with theshaft C are in engagement, is intermediate those sectors of travel oneither side of its vertical position, and that during such intermediatesector 'of travel the extension 9 is in its vertical positioncorresponding with the closed position of the carburetor valve 1' andthroughout this intermediate sector of travel during which the reversingcontrol gears are in mesh, there will be no lift exerted upon bell crankIs by reason of the lost'motion device formed by the slotted sleeve l4and the slidable connection between rods 9 and I5. Thus, during theentire period of rotation of lever I within the sector called reversinggear the throttle valve will be closed, and that at the extreme fullpower ahead and full power in reverse.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the segmental gears are arranged toengage only through a sector medial of the operative stroke ofthe leverbetween the extreme positions of full power ahead and full power inreverse, and the throttle control leakage includes a link pivoted on thelever and having a lost motion extension. Y

,4, The device of claim -1, with a its. motion device between the leverand the throttle control, comprising a two-part link, said link .partsbeing slidably associated with means limiting the movement of said partswith respect to each other. j

5. A control device for marine engines comprising a support, a leverpivotally mounted on the support having one end provided with a handgrip'and the other end provided with an axially extensible link and stopmeans for limiting said extension, a rotary reversing gear operatingmember pivotally mounted on the support,

and means for operatively associating the lever out a limited sectoronly of the lever stroke, said operative'sector of the leverstrokecoinciding with the lost motion sliding movement of the linkextension as and for the purposes specified.

- ANDREW J. HIGGINS.

